'Comrade Arya, Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram'; When Mamdani reacted to Arya Rajendran's election win
34-year-old Zohran Mamdani is the new Mayor of New York City. The high-spirited youngster cruised to power through a vigorous election campaign that struck the right chord with youngsters. The effect of Mamdani’s victory is reverberating in India as well, given his roots in the subcontinent. Amidst an outpouring of congratulatory messages, netizens unearthed a retweet made by Mamdani in 2020, where he impersonally congratulated Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran for her election victory.
Mamdani had shared a tweet from CPI(M) Puducherry that said, “Comrade Arya Rajendran, age 21, new Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She will be the youngest mayor of a major city in the world.”
Mamdani shared it on X, with the caption, “So what kind of mayor does NYC need right now?”
This retweet from Mamdani, which was cloistered in the dungeons of social media over the years, has been retrieved once again. The news got viral after Mayor Arya Rajendran invited Mamdani to visit the capital city of Kerala following his thumping election victory.
them: so what kind of mayor does nyc need right now? me: https://t.co/XEuvK6VvOc
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) December 27, 2020
Arya Rajendran:
Warmest congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on your election as the 111th mayor of New York City! Your victory is a powerful testament that progressive, leftist ideals of justice and equity continue to inspire and reaffirm their relevance across the globe. It speaks of how humans who care about each other and the planet choose people-centric governance, from Kerala to New York. We would be honoured to welcome you to Thiruvananthapuram to see our own people’s planning model in action. Looking forward to the possibility of your visit.”
In 2020, Arya Rajendran, a CPM student leader, was elected Mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation at the age of 21 after she won the local body elections from Mudavanmugal constituency in the capital city. She thus became the youngest ever Mayor in India’s history.